Also very popular in Cambridge - which really just supports the point someone made in another thread that they're still common in regions that use motorcycles predominantly practically as opposed to sport/luxury/hobby. (Cambridge & NL have high bicycle density in general.)
Talking about the Netherlands: when I got the theory part of my motorcycle license, I had to learn (and got tested on) all sorts of crazy traffic situations involving sidecars. Of course, I have never seen one in my entire 4+ decade life.
Isn't the idea that it is for the main passenger? These days you can comfortably sit behind a driver when a rear luggage acts as a back of a chair. Or when there is an actual chair at the rear (google "honda goldwing").
Or "Honda Leadwing" as they are referred to by other motorcyclists. A bike that massive seems to defeat a lot of the point of having a motorcycle IMHO.
This is why I tell people it is very impractical to engineer tricycles, as:
They are less stable than motorcycles
Putting in all kinds of complex leaning system makes them either even harder to drive, or so heavy, and complex that all the weight, cost, and part count advantages over 4 wheels are lost few times over.
It very much depends on the design of the tricycle. Tricycles with two front wheels are rather stable. And they offer several advantages vs. motor bikes, as you don't have to lean before you can steer, recovering from a loss of grip is also more likely.
I am driving a tricycle (2 front wheels) recumbent bike and am very happy with it, especially on slippery ground. I also like having 2 front disc brakes for quick stopping - basically as fast as a car.
That's fascinating. How did the software work with that? Were they native apps flagged to run on the different processor, or was DOS booted on a screen (can't remember what they were called in workbench now) and programs run from there?
I never had one but my guess is you'd boot DOS on the x86 part and everything except for the screen is separated with no ambiguity where to run what code.
What happened to them is that they are being raced on motocross tracks. It's called sidecarcross! It's a bit of a niche sport; Here are a few pictures of a sidecar built on a Husaberg 650 (which is a completely ludicrous machine in its own right): https://www.facebook.com/dirtyman36/posts/for-sale-vmc-2013-...
>The writers were unaware of the film's darker content when they selected it for the show, only watching it in its entirety during their usual joke-writing sessions. They were horrified to discover the scene in which Rommel's girlfriend Rita is raped and killed, juxtaposed with shots of Luke and Lois' children playfully roughhousing.
I remember round about 1960 one of my Grandma's neighbours had a motor-bike and sidecar - it always looked very dodgy to me, and the neigbour looked on enviously at my Dad's Hillman Minx, but then the bike never lead to a near-death experience: http://www.rafjever.org/93sqnpic142.htm
Every year the Pioneer Run goes right past my door, lots of pre-1915 motorised bicycles and motorbikes going from London to Brighton. It's always a riot, and amazing to see these old machines on the road - I've taken many pics over the years, but here's my favourite sidecar one from 2004.
Yes, lots of old superstructure was made of wicker/wood/whatever was to hand. There will be a metal frame under it, of course, but wicker is perfectly strong enough (ever been in a hot air balloon? The baskets are usually wicker, and strong enough to hold 8 people of more).
Here's another pic of wicker usage on an old bicycle/motorbike:-
Very amusingly, it's possible to check the numberplate of that bike on the UK gov. website vehicle MOT page [0]. That bike was registered 31st December 1913 - so it's a mere 108 years old now.
Sidecars are alive and well. You see a ton of them in Southeast Asia. They are frequently used by street vendors selling various kinds of food. I've also seen them used for hauling cargo and people.
Yeah, the article is looking at things from a "western" perspective. I would say sidecars were (or still are) for people who use a motorcycle for practical reasons. In countries where motorcycles are mostly a "lifestyle accessory" or a hobby rather than a practical means of transport, sidecars have vanished.
I think you’ll have a hard time finding cops who don’t find the idea of enforcing such laws utterly preposterous. Most wouldn’t even try to stop a motorcycle.
OT but what a toxic cookie acceptance dark pattern. The prompt (which takes up half the screen) doesn't go away unless you click accept all on Brave mobile. Configuring cookies causes it to stay visible.
There was a group of expats in Shanghai who were commonly riding classic motorcycles, often with gorgeous restored sidecars - never looked into it but I assumed they were probably cheap, given the cosmopolitan history of the city and the current cultures emphasis on the new
My father had a Vespa with one of those where my mother used to sit, before I was born.
I haven't seen many of those on the wild. The image that's still fresh is the pair of serones (esparto panniers) in the back of peasants' motorcicles. One containing the hoes and ropes, in the other a happy greyhound looking around.
It might be common knowledge, but I was elated to find out that the word pannier did actually arise out of the word for bread.
> c. 1300, paniere, "large basket for provisions," from Old French panier, paniere "basket," from Latin panarium "bread-basket," noun use of a nerter adjective meaning "pertaining to bread," from panis "bread," from PIE root *pa- "to feed." Transferred sense of "frame of whalebone, etc., used to distend the skirt of a woman's dress at the hips" is by 1869.
I found it in a dictionary as a "sera" translation. In Spain I doubt many people even knows the word. In my hometown it was "serón" (a big sera). Those words are quickly becoming relics. It was funny to see the thing, that was originally used with mules, adapted to motorbikes.
Harley-Davidson stopped making sidecars in 2011 according to a 2016 Washington Post story [1]. The DC police owned more sidecars than motorcycles, but recent Harley-Davidson motorcycles were built without a way to attach the sidecars.
I saw that "concept" at the Long Beach bike show a few years. It's literally the guts of a Zero bolted into an Ural frame.
At least one of the things that I personally find exciting is the idea of having a huge stack of batteries in the sidecar. Would be great for both capacity, and handling when you don't have a passenger. You could even add a teslaesque "ludicrous" mode and not worry about running out of battery.
Weird. Air and oil cooled BMWs are actually pretty nice to work on (except the the R1100GS toolkit doesn't include feeler gauges for the intake and exhaust valves).
I have a modern Ural, it is more expensive and less practical than a regular motorcycle, which means you get it almost exclusively because it's weird and you are weird.
Yes, but they've been making continuous improvements. Every year the build quality and material quality seem to get a little better. The pre-EFI 2013 and earlier bikes had a lot of rough edges and were known for questionable alloy quality. Mine is a 2014 and has had an oil weep/mist since the day I bought it. But new ones seem to have a solid EFI system, the alternator is made by Denso so the electrical system is pretty good, the brakes are Brembo so they're good. Just don't be misled by social media seeing them cross rivers and go up mountains, they are capable of that but it'll cause lots of rust and the need to regrease everything. They are not as reliable as a modern major manufacturer motorcycle.
Can confirm. I’ve had my Ural with sidecar (2WD) for 12 years. It was my daily driver for half that. It’s wonderful and practical, but I say that as a motorcyclist and bicyclist.
Seats three adults comfortably (one behind driver on a large comfy tractor seat with a grab handle). I originally bought it as a dirt road camping and long road tripping bike because it has a huge trunk in the sidecar and lots of tie-down points. Spare wheel and tire. It handles well fully laden since the frame is heavy duty. Very low horsepower. Great torque. 2WD useful in snow and gravel.
Top speed 105 km/h but it’s happiest at 90 km/h and I’ve run it all day in the heat on highways at that speed. Secondary roads beat freeways for a motorcycle trip IMO anyways. It’s mechanically very simple with an unstressed, air-cooled motor.
People joke about shitty Russian quality. Would it rust faster than my Honda left in the rain? Yes. No plastic, little aluminum, lots of steel. Save exhaust, my drivetrain is stock and has been extremely reliable. Mine is carbeurated but the factory switched to EFI some time ago. The metal quality of the rims and spokes was my only complaint so I’m getting a new set laced up and colour matched as I type this. My Honda, Harley, and Yamaha have all had more expensive parts and service bills than my Ural.
It also excels at urban errands with style —- lockable and rainproof trunk. I’ve bought and sold other bikes but I will never get rid of the Ural.
I have a sidecar attached to my Honda shadow. It's a weirdly fascinating thing ; riding a sidecar is as different from riding a bike, as riding a bike is from driving a car. The dynamics are all different, handling is absurd, etc. A pretty good overview of the weirdness is as [1]
It's definitely not my daily ; I can't lane split, which means it takes as long to commute with as the car. But every time I'm riding it, I can't help but grin under the helmet.
The first time you're turning right and the wheels come off the ground, it's truly terrifying. Because the first time it happens you literally have no coping mechanism and simply careen forward in a straight line, because no intuitive steering input is capable of making you turn right.
But once you get it down, it's a genuine hysterical fun thing.
There are still a lot of these in the former USSR in daily use. When I came to USA first I was kind of surprised to see none of them here since they were so normal there.
83 comments
[ 4.2 ms ] story [ 110 ms ] threadhttps://www.bakfiets.com/
I often see those in Tokyo.
Cruising around in an armchair taking it all in
I think the biggest nail in the coffin was the militaries abandoning motorcycles around the world.
They are less stable than motorcycles
Putting in all kinds of complex leaning system makes them either even harder to drive, or so heavy, and complex that all the weight, cost, and part count advantages over 4 wheels are lost few times over.
Heh, this also seems to have happened to them: https://www.bikeexif.com/ducati-sidecarcross
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9wvcCJSOSk
>The writers were unaware of the film's darker content when they selected it for the show, only watching it in its entirety during their usual joke-writing sessions. They were horrified to discover the scene in which Rommel's girlfriend Rita is raped and killed, juxtaposed with shots of Luke and Lois' children playfully roughhousing.
They seem to have accidentally replaced the word 'awesome' with 'obnoxious' - a common mistake.
I'm probably working too much with Istio.
It's for taxi services, where most trips would be in urban traffic, at a top speed of about 20mph, and not going further than 3 miles.
[0] http://hazeii.net/images/2004/pioneer/p25l.jpg
Here's another pic of wicker usage on an old bicycle/motorbike:-
http://hazeii.net/images/2004/pioneer/p16.jpg
Very amusingly, it's possible to check the numberplate of that bike on the UK gov. website vehicle MOT page [0]. That bike was registered 31st December 1913 - so it's a mere 108 years old now.
[0] https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/
> But as the decade passed, and cars became cheaper and smaller, consumers moved toward travel on four wheels.
I’d be surprised if there was a different reason.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ice_cream_street_vendor_-...
One major advantage of motorcycles/scooters that it's very easy to do filtering and lane splitting, which helps in more crowded urban streets:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_splitting
With a sidecar you'd lost that ability and be stuck in traffic just like a car.
I don't have enough experience to speak for other states where it is also illegal.
I haven't seen many of those on the wild. The image that's still fresh is the pair of serones (esparto panniers) in the back of peasants' motorcicles. One containing the hoes and ropes, in the other a happy greyhound looking around.
Edit, I found a photo:
https://www.elespartero.es/articulos/albums/userpics/005%20a...
It might be common knowledge, but I was elated to find out that the word pannier did actually arise out of the word for bread.
> c. 1300, paniere, "large basket for provisions," from Old French panier, paniere "basket," from Latin panarium "bread-basket," noun use of a nerter adjective meaning "pertaining to bread," from panis "bread," from PIE root *pa- "to feed." Transferred sense of "frame of whalebone, etc., used to distend the skirt of a woman's dress at the hips" is by 1869.
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/could-ico...
https://www.imz-ural.com/gear-up
US$ 17K isn't actually that expensive for a new motorcycle on the high-end.
I anticipate getting one of these if they ever bring it to fruition: https://www.imz-ural.com/electric
I saw that "concept" at the Long Beach bike show a few years. It's literally the guts of a Zero bolted into an Ural frame.
At least one of the things that I personally find exciting is the idea of having a huge stack of batteries in the sidecar. Would be great for both capacity, and handling when you don't have a passenger. You could even add a teslaesque "ludicrous" mode and not worry about running out of battery.
Holy poop, their dealer in AL is about half an hour from me. I'll have to meander down there some time.
Seats three adults comfortably (one behind driver on a large comfy tractor seat with a grab handle). I originally bought it as a dirt road camping and long road tripping bike because it has a huge trunk in the sidecar and lots of tie-down points. Spare wheel and tire. It handles well fully laden since the frame is heavy duty. Very low horsepower. Great torque. 2WD useful in snow and gravel.
Top speed 105 km/h but it’s happiest at 90 km/h and I’ve run it all day in the heat on highways at that speed. Secondary roads beat freeways for a motorcycle trip IMO anyways. It’s mechanically very simple with an unstressed, air-cooled motor.
People joke about shitty Russian quality. Would it rust faster than my Honda left in the rain? Yes. No plastic, little aluminum, lots of steel. Save exhaust, my drivetrain is stock and has been extremely reliable. Mine is carbeurated but the factory switched to EFI some time ago. The metal quality of the rims and spokes was my only complaint so I’m getting a new set laced up and colour matched as I type this. My Honda, Harley, and Yamaha have all had more expensive parts and service bills than my Ural.
It also excels at urban errands with style —- lockable and rainproof trunk. I’ve bought and sold other bikes but I will never get rid of the Ural.
More smiles per mile.
It's definitely not my daily ; I can't lane split, which means it takes as long to commute with as the car. But every time I'm riding it, I can't help but grin under the helmet.
[1] https://www.rideapart.com/features/255154/how-to-ride-a-side...
But once you get it down, it's a genuine hysterical fun thing.
I very much recommend the yellow book by David Hough, if you want to get into it. https://www.dmcsidecars.com/yellow-book/
But to answer the question: Germans stopped putting MG42 on sidecars, so they lost their utility [1].
1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Twee_duitsers_op_mot...
https://advrider.com/f/threads/bakery-quest-a-year-hacking-t...